Swallowing Water
by iridesa
Summary: Melody has grown into a beautiful 18 year old that still likes to break the rules here and there. She lives her life in a safety net, but this time, her safety net is tattered and ripped. This mermaid needs to stand on her own fins, and fight a war she never expected to undertake. Love takes on a new face.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Mom, I'm going with Sebastian to the sunken ship exhibit!" Melody hollered as she threw an apple into her bag. She thought better of it, and placed it back in the bowl.

She gathered as much of her raven black hair as she could and knotted it up into a ponytail with one of her father's worn ropes.

"I don't remember Sebastian mentioning any such thing!" Her mother stopped her in her tracks, puffing her overhanging bangs out of her face.

"You wanna hang out the window and ask him yourself?" She gestured to the grand windows that outlooked the settling sea. "Him and some other professors have been excavating it, and he thinks it'd be perfect to learn about. It could also give me a step up before going to school."

Ariel's eyes deeply bored into her. She got that talent from her father. "You need to be in bed by the time the moon is high in the sky." She swept the skirt of her navy dress as she stepped aside.

Melody crossed her arms. "Why do I need a curfew when I'm with Sebastian?"

"You know the waters haven't been so safe lately. Some Atlanticans and fish have gone missing, without a trace. Sebastian can only protect you from so much. Please, Mel, just don't fight on this with me."

Melody traipsed passed Ariel, "Do I even have a choice? I leave soon to go out and make something of myself, and I still need a bedtime." She closed the door as Ariel's mouth opened to utter another slew of uninvited perspective.

The damp sea air splashed her awake. She hopped down the steps and skidded to a stop in the sand. Only 3 steps away from her front door was the wide open ocean. The waters licked the edges of the shore, daring to touch Melody's awaiting toes. The wind swirled bits of white sand this way and that. She squinted her sea foam colored eyes, searching for her miniature red guide.

She moved closer for a better look, her feet a mere shuffles away from the waters. The spray of sea was already making her legs get that tingling sensation.

Up out of the water a red cheliped thrust itself visible. "Melody, over here!" A thick Jamaican accent gurgled over the waves.

She cracked her toes in anticipation. She took off running into the water, then dove in where the shelf dropped off.

A tingling sensation overtook her entire legs, like the feeling of them falling asleep. They began melting into each other, like one big foot. Their skin tone changed to a peach hue, and little gills became littered all over. Her feet slimmed and elongated to form fins. The only human qualities left were her arms, torso, head, and the tan shirt she was wearing. She dug into her netted bag and pulled out an amber shell bra. She slipped it on under the shirt. Putting it on later would prove to be an issue, so she strapped it on now when she had the chance.

Now, it isn't everyday a human can just splash into water and suddenly become a mermaid. Her mother was the daughter of Triton, the King of the Sea. For the longest time, she was clueless to this fact. Morgana, the sister of the sea witch Ursula who tried to keep Melody's parents apart, lured Melody to her and manipulated her to take away King Triton's trident. The situation headed south, but, as usual, good triumphed over evil. Triton used his powers to allow Melody to become a mermaid whenever she set foot into his waters.

She wiggled and pushed herself in Sebastian's direction, his form slowly floating down to the bottom. When Melody reached him, she snatched him into a hug.

"Thank you again so so much, Sebastian! I can't wait to see the exhibit!"

Sebastian wiggled out of her grip and shook out his joints, "Of course, child, but please don't try to kill me as a thank you next time.

Melody giggled, and flipped so she was floating on her back, hands behind her head. She closed her eyes, letting every tendril of water nudge the little molecules that made her up. As Sebastian lectured her on "de rulez of de trip", she formulated the plan of escape to meet up with her mer-friends.

"And most importantly, if I see that fin flip in a direction different from mine, I will filet you as fast as possible." Her eyes flew open as he pinched her side. "Don't think I'm carping around." He chuckled to himself. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm the only one laughing. I crack myself up." He forced himself towards a kelp garden and a darker corner of the sea.

"Probably because you're the only one to think you're funny." Melody mumbled as she followed quickly behind.

As they passed curving corals and oddly morphed rocks, Sebastian rambled on about the discoveries the teams had come up with thus far. She waved at the school of clownfish that passed by, and picked a colorful flower. She twisted it between her fingers, then tucked it into the ties of her ponytail rope.

Melody's plan was foolproof. If something were to go wrong, Triton could always get her out of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"We found a few chests we need to open, but we thought about giving one for your father to look at. See if it belongs to anyone up above." Sebastian's thick accent made him hard to understand sometimes, especially when he talked fast. Melody had gotten used to it.

"So you still don't know where it may have come from?" Melody picked up a piece of the mast that had ripped away.

A grand galleon lay sprawled out in front of her. It looked like someone had taken it and ripped it with their hands three times. The wood looked like it may have been a dark oak, but the water had given it a tinged dark olive pigment. Splinters floated all over as the excavation mermen pulled apart wood to reveal entrances into its different levels. Small, round holes gave an outsider's view into small rooms along its hull. A pile of chests lay on the ocean floor yards away from the wreckage. An even larger pile was next to it with miscellaneous portraits, clothes, and even a small doll. Melody discovered this and picked it up. The head was made of glass, and one of its large hazel eyes had cracked open to reveal hollow innards. A strange taupe slime lined the cracks and bits had dripped inside. She opened her mouth to announce this discovery, but decided to keep it to herself. She glanced this way and that quickly with her eyes, then slipped it into her bag. Some research herself would help her gain better knowledge, anyway.

"There isn't anything of real interest in that pile," one of the dark haired excavators said, flicking his teal tail in her direction.

Melody shrugged, "If you say so! Can I go digging around anywhere?"

Another excavator looked around. "You can try looking in one of those round holes." He gestured to one with little interest.

"Don't go inside, child. Just poke your head in quick, then come back and report!" Sebastian guided her to the hole, then gently nudged her chin as if she were a small child.

"What is the point of helping if I won't even really be helping," she exasperated as she barely glanced inside. A demi-culverin cannon had rolled itself into a far corner, and the door leading in had come off one of its hinges. "Wow-wee. This is so fun." She cocked her head so she could check out the excavation group out of the corner of her eye. They had become pre-occupied with a chest they had opened, some of its treasures beginning to lift and float in front of them. Sebastian glanced back, and she quickly stuck her head back in, feigning deep investigation.

"Found anything?"

"Er uh, no, not really! I'll try the one at the far end, saw something hanging around." Melody began to swim on over when she felt the clamp of small pinchers on her tail. A shriek emitted from her lips, and Sebastian flung himself in front of her.

"I may be occupied, but I know when to pay attention! Where you trying to flitter off to."

"No where, Sebastian! Just thought I saw something over there."

Sebastian crossed his arms. "Look, your mother and father want me to make sure you stay safe, and I'm going to do that. So don't even try to-" He halted his lecturing as a miserable look crossed Melody's face. Her mother had gotten good at using it on him, and she had taken up her mother's gift. He sighed and rubbed his head.

"You already know they won't really use me here." She said as her bottom lip popped out into a pout.

"But I have to watch you. It isn't safe here."

"Okay, okay. I won't go anywhere. I'll just check out the windows on both sides." She swam aside from him and began to go down the line.

After Sebastian saw she was good on her word, he returned to the group. Little did he notice her crawl into one of the small holes, and go through the open door…

Creeeeeeek. Every shift of the water caused the walls of the ship to move and crack bit by bit. The door led to a very cramped hall with a series of doors lining each side. She turned the knob to one on the opposite side, but it came off completely from the door. Unexpecting this, she let go of the knob and it clattered to the floor.

She knew if she took a moment to process, they'd already notice her missing. She put her fingers into the hole and pulled the door open. It caught and didn't open completely, but she shoved her body in anyway. Alarmed voices rose over the creeks of the galleon.

"MELODY!"  
She scruched to fit into the window that led outside of the ship, but got stuck. Her bag had come crashing in at the same time as her, and was caught between her waist and the edge of the window. She used her free left hand to get it off her shoulder and wiggle it out from its trapped place. Just as she heard a loud crash behind her, she yanked it free and threw it in front of her to allow her to get out.

She snatched her bag, threw it back over her shoulder, and sped off farther away from Atlantica. Melody turned to see a series of tails pass the doorway from where she came, searching for any trace of her.

I'm not going to die or anything, she thought as she headed towards her new destination. Whatever new danger it is is probably a shark that has gone out of control or something.

She flicked her tail for a turbo boost, and raced to meet up with her gang.


End file.
